


fishing

by sleepiemaggie



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Cats, Fishing, Gen, Pre-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28942377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepiemaggie/pseuds/sleepiemaggie
Summary: byleth winds down from a stressful life-changing few weeks with some fishing.
Kudos: 7





	fishing

If there's anything that'll give them a sense of normalcy, Byleth muses, it's fishing.

Fishing they know. Fishing they're good at. Fishing is comfortable.

Fishing also doesn't require too much thinking. Fishing doesn't require them to talk. Fishing doesn't require them meeting much too many new faces at a time. Fishing doesn't require them to pick a class to teach. 

The past few days, to say the least, have been draining for Byleth.

No longer a mercenary with their father, they've been thrust into a teaching position at a monastery that they've never even heard of, built for a religion they've never known about.

It's a bit much.

Byleth settles down at the dock, ready to fish to their heart's content. They cast their line and let their mind wander.

They wonder how they could've never known about the church. Byleth has never thought of themself as sheltered - would a sheltered person be fighting alongside their father and his mercenaries? - but maybe they are, in some ways. After all, their father's been in the monastery's service before, yet never told them a thing about it. 

Some would be angry at their parent for such an omission, but Byleth can't bring themself to be. After all, they don't think they've ever asked him about his life before they were born. Only about their mother, maybe once in a blue moon, when he tells them, sometimes, how much they look like her. But never anything else.

Byleth has always been complacent. They don't need to have their curiosities answered. All they need is their security, and they're happy.

Besides, they know, with all their being, that everything their father's done in the past twenty years they've been alive, he's done to keep them safe. They would never question that.

They're drawn out of their thoughts when they feel a yank at their line.

Fish on, they think.

Byleth tugs their rod once, twice, and retrieves their catch on the third try. It's hard, even for someone like them, not to feel so smug about their catch.

With practiced ease, they unhook the fish from the line. Most people would be squeamish about doing such a thing, but Byleth is by no means not like most people.

No, fishing is something they've been doing since they could practically walk. It's their father's favorite pastime, so of course they were taught how to do it at a young age. In fact, since they were young, Byleth did most of the fishing for food. Their father would joke about them having to keep their stay.

Fishing just comes naturally to them.

It's a comfort, really. Right now, they don't care what they catch, nor do they know what they're going to do with the fish they catch. They suppose they'll just bring them to the cooks in the dining hall; they'll be happy to have fresh food, won't they?

They do worry, however, about what fishing too much will do to the pond. They'll have to be careful not to run it dry.

They've caught a few fish by the time that they see a small animal out of the corner of their eye.

Ah. A cat, probably looking for dinner.

It's a tiny little thing, which is saying something because the cats living here are all spoiled rotten. They're all lucky things, living the life of luxury in the monastery, always able to find food without having to so much as hunt. No, the cats here live like royals.

Byleth supposes this one must be a kitten, given its size, rather than an underfed cat that's just so happened to wander in monastery walls.

Goddess knows they're not the most expressive person in Fodlan, but they can't help but smile, even if the tiniest bit.

The cat's gray fur glints in the late day sunlight, waves of light washing over its body as it stalks closer to the pier. Its hazel eyes stare into Byleth, sometimes looking away to the bucket in which the fish are being kept. Byleth watches it, curiosity piqued by its cool demeanor. 

The cat stops and stares.

And then…

Suddenly the thing pounces at the bucket, taking a fish in its mouth, and, without so much of a glance at Byleth, runs away.

Byleth lets out a chuckle. They know what to do with the fish, now.

**Author's Note:**

> i spend too much time thinking about the cats that live at garreg mach.


End file.
